CURRICULUM VITAE (March 2010)

Name, first name: WERNERS, SASKIA E.

Year of birth: 1971

Nationality: Dutch

Residence: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Telephone: +31-(0)20 6790638 [home]

E-mail: w e r n e r s @ m u n g o . n l [typed without the spaces]

Personal Profile & Key Experience

My main research interest is adaptation to climate change in water management. Based at the Centre for Water and Climate of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, my research is firmly rooted in the global change community branching out into institutional as well as biophysical aspect. In my work, I seek to identify robust land and water management strategies and opportunities to implement these strategies at the regional scale. My graduate studies in the field of Environmental Sciences, Experimental Physics and Water Management and Engineering are complemented by my practical experience, working in the national government and the private sector.

Academic record / Education

2010: PhD research 'Adaptation to climate related risks in managed river basins. Diversifying land use and water management activities to adapt to climate related risks in the Netherlands and Hungary', Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands

2008: Visiting Scientist - Young Scientist Summer Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg Austria

2006: Complex Systems Summer School, Sante Fe Institute, New Mexico, US

2004: PhD Course ‘Complex Dynamics in and between Social and Eco Systems’

2004: Scientific Writing & Journalism

2000: Technology of Participation, Group Facilitation Methods, ICA

1997: MSc with Distinction in Water Resources Engineering and Management, Civil & Offshore Engineering Department, Heriot-Watt University, UK

1995: MSc Environmental Sciences First Class, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

1995: MSc Experimental Physics First Class, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

1991: Interdisciplinary course in Environmental Sciences

Employment Record

Present: Integrated Water Management Specialist; Centre for Water and Climate, Alterra - Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands, and 
Researcher Adaptive Capacity in Managed River Basins, Wageningen University, NL

2004: Post-doc Participatory Planning for Water & Climate; Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands

2003: Integrated Water Management Specialist, Dialogue on Water & Climate, Science Support Office, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands

2002: Policy Advisor Global Environmental Policy Division; Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Netherlands. Spokesperson at WTO, European Commission and OECD. Special focus on Environment & Trade, Agriculture and Services

2001: Coordinator e-Forum; Directorate for Strategic Policy Development (Forum); Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Netherlands

1997-2001: Advisor Integrated Water Management; Resource Analysis, the Netherlands. Projects in Europe, India, Bangladesh and the Caribbean

1996: Research assistant Coastal Zone Management; Civil & Offshore Engineering Department, Heriot-Watt University, UK

1995: Lecturer Scientific English; Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Hungary

1994: Research assistant Optical and physical measurement techniques for coastal and estuarine waters; Applied Physics Group, University College Dublin, Ireland

Other

Languages: Fluent in English, German and Dutch. Basic French

Affiliations: Member of the network for Science and Technology for Sustainability, Member of the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), Greenpeace volunteer, Member of the council of the Physics Department, Amsterdam

Interests: Enjoy working in a dynamic and interdisciplinary work environment. Creative pioneering. Completed Online Program on Sustaining Human Existence in Changing Conditions, Ottawa, Canada. Mountaineering, cycling and photography. Voluntary work. Theatre and literature

Computer Proficiency: Successfully designed the interface of Decision Support Systems. Used Excel, Fuzzy Logic and cross-impact modelling to prepare analytical modules. Designed and managed internet sites & help files. Prepared extensive reports in MS Word. Moderated electronic newsgroups. Extensive knowledge of MS Word, Excel, ExpertChoice, GIS (ESRI software), Html and Macromedia. 

Selected Publications  

Publications

Werners, S. E., J. Warner and D. Roth (2010) Opponents and supporters of water policy change in the Netherlands and Hungary. Water Alternatives 3 (1), 26-47.

Werners, S. E., J. D. Tàbara, H. Neufeldt, D. McEvoy, X. Dai, Z. Flachner, J. West, F. Cots, G. Trombi, N. Lugeri, P. Matczak and G.-J. Nabuurs (2010) Mainstreaming Adaptation in Regional Land Use and Water Management. In Making climate change work for us: European perspectives on adaptation and mitigation strategies (eds Hulme, M. and H. Neufeldt), pp. 230-260. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Werners, S. E., J. D. Tàbara, X. Dai, Z. Flachner, H. Neufeldt, D. McEvoy, J. West, F. Cots, G. Trombi and R. Leemans (2010) Constraints and opportunities for climate adaptation in regional water and land use planning. In The Economic, Social and Political Elements of Climate Change (ed Leal Filho, W.), in press. Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Werners, S. E., P. Matczak and Z. Flachner (2010) Individuals matter: exploring strategies of individuals to change the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. Ecology and Society Special Feature: Realizing water transitions. The role of policy entrepreneurs in water policy change (forthcoming).

Werners, S. E., É. Erdélyi and I. Supit (2010) Use of Modern Portfolio Theory to evaluate diversification of agricultural land use as an adaptation to climate risks in the Tisza River Basin. In Climate change adaptation in developed nations (eds Ford, J. D. and L. B. Ford). Springer, Netherlands (forthcoming).

Werners, S. E., P. Matczak and Z. Flachner (2009) The introduction of floodplain rehabilitation and rural development into the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. In Water policy entrepreneurs: A research companion to water transitions around the globe (eds Huitema, D. and S. Meijerink), pp. 250-271. Edward Elgar Publishing, Camberley, UK - Northampton, USA.

Veraart, J., E. v. Ierland, S. E. Werners, J. Verhagen, D. d. Groot, P. Kuikman and P. Kabat (2010) Climate change impacts on water management and adaptation strategies in the Netherlands: stakeholder and scientific expert judgments. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning (forthcoming).

Tàbara, J. D., X. Dai, G. Jia, D. McEvoy, H. Neufeldt, A. Serra, S. Werners and J. J. West (2010) The climate learning ladder. A pragmatic procedure to support climate adaptation. Environmental Policy and Governance 20 (1), 1-11.

Werners, S. E., Z. Flachner, P. Matczak, M. Falaleeva and R. Leemans (2009) Exploring earth system governance: a case study of floodplain management along the Tisza River in Hungary. Global Environmental Change 19 (4), 503-511.

Tàbara, J. D., F. Cots, X. Dai, M. Falaleeva, Z. Flachner, D. McEvoy and S. Werners (2009) Social Learning on Climate Change among regional agent - insights from China, Eastern Europe and Iberia. In Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change (eds Leal Filho, W. and F. Mannke), pp. 121-150. Peter Lang Scientific Publishers, Frankfurt, DE.

Moors, E., R. Harding, H. Biemans, D. Collins, J. Froebrich, A. Gosain, A. Groot, J. Haerter, P. Kumar, M. L. Shrestha, F. Ludwig, A. Mishra, P. P. Sarthi, G. Rees, C. Terwisscha van Scheltinga, S. Tomar, C. Siderius, M. Stoffel and S. Werners (2009) Water Resources of the Ganga under a Changing Climate: interaction between Glaciers and Monsoon in the Himalaya. In Proceedings of the 8th Scientific IAHS Assembly and 37th IAH Congress Hyderabad, India.

Cots, F., J. D. Tàbara, D. McEvoy, S. E. Werners and E. Roca (2009) Cross-border organisations as an adaptive water management response to climate change: the case of the Guadiana river basin. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 27 (5), 876-893.

Minca, E. L., K. Petz and S. E. Werners (2008) An ecosystem services approach in the Tisza River Basin. Tiscia 36, 35-40.

McEvoy, D., F. Cots, K. Lonsdale, J. D. Tàbara and S. E. Werners (2008) The Role of Institutional Capacity in Enabling Climate Change Adaptation: The Case of the Guadiana River Basin. In Transborder Environmental and Natural Resource Management (ed Jong, W. d.), CIAS Discussion Series No.4, pp. 49-59. CIAS, Centre for Integrated Area Studies Kyoto, Japan.

Matczak, P., Z. Flachner and S. E. Werners (2008) Institutions for adapting to climate change in the Tisza river basin. "Klimá - 21" Füzetek 55 (English Special Edition), 87-100.

Aerts, J., W. Botzen, A. v. Veen, J. Krykrow and S. Werners (2008) Dealing with uncertainty in flood management through diversification. Ecology and Society 13 (1), 41.

Werners S. and M. Donaldson (2006) Diversifying to cope with Environmental Change, Paper Series Complex Systems Summer School 2006, Sante Fe Institute, New Mexico, US

Werners, S.E. and R. Boumans (2005) Simulating global feedbacks between Sea Level Rise, Water for Agriculture and the complex Socio-economic Development of the IPCC Scenarios, Proceedings Environmental Modelling and Software Society Conference: Complexity and Integrated Resources Management (IEMSS2004), Osnabrück, June 2004

Aerts J., S. Werners and P. Droogers (2003) Adaptation to climate change: a research agenda for the future, Chapter 13 in Aerts, J.C.J.H. and P. Droogers (eds), Climate Change in Contrasting River Basins. Cabi Publishers

Werners, S.E. (2001) Climate Change: a driving force behind policy reform in the Netherlands, Poster Session, Challenges of a Changing Earth, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 2001

Koudstaal, R., S.E. Werners, S. Huq and A. Ahmed (2000) Bangladesh; Climate Change and Sustainable Development, World Bank Publication, Report No. 21104-BD, Rural Development Unit, South Asia Region

Werners, S.E, M. Taal and H. de Ridder (2000) Sustainable development of the Scheldt Estuary: Building an integral vision on navigation, environment & safety, Proceedings PDCE'2000, Varna

Ridder, de H., S. Werners, M. Taal (2000) Scheldt Estuary - Involving all stakeholders to improve navigation and safety whilst protecting the environment, CoastNET, Volume 5 Issue 2: Ports, Shipping and the Environment, Autumn 2000  

Rijsberman, F., S.E. Werners and D. Hirsch (1999) Conflict Management & Consensus Building for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-American Development Bank, Sustainable Development Department, Technical Papers Series No. ENV-132, Washington D.C.

Hinnen, P., W. Ubachs and S.E. Werners (1995) XUV-laser spectroscopy of HD 92-98 nm, Phys.Rev A. 52. 4425